


Sorry not Sorry

by FaiaHae



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Basically pranks, Disney World & Disneyland, Everything will be fine, In which Reyes went to find his son instead of joining a terrorist organization, Latino Jesse McCree, Lots of pranks, M/M, Oops there may actually be a little bit of angst in here, Petty Vengeance, Punk Hanzo Shimada, Road Trips, Sombra McCree and Reyes are a wildly dysfunctional family, Taking wild creative liberties with reaper's abilities, Wild Goose chases across the american west, just a little, omnic crisis history, switching POV, they put the fun in dysfunctional, what's a road trip without a few battlefield destinations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-01-09 11:18:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 17,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12275343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaiaHae/pseuds/FaiaHae
Summary: McCree ignores the recall as his bounty continues to rise. Concerned, Winston sends a team after him to try to convince him. What they find isn’t what they were expecting





	1. Striking Out

 

“Winston?”

“Yes Athena?” The scientist is in his lab, issuing IDs and profiles for the returned Overwatch agents. It’s boring, repetitive work and he’s glad for the distraction even though it’s bound to be nothing good.

He’s right.

“McCree’s bounty has risen by another million.”

“What’s that put it at now?”

“58 Million- No, my apologies. Updating. 60 Million.”

 

Winston raised his eyebrows.

“Any news?”

“Negative.”

That was worrying. Winston thinks for a moment, then makes a decision.

“Put out a message to see who’s willing to be on a retrieval team. I want to see if we can get him back here.”

“He didn’t respond to the recall.”

Winston shrugs.

“Lets see if- ah-” A ping. Genji wanted to be on the team. Another. Soldier 76.

“Okay. Should probably have a third to keep those two apart-”

Ping. Hanzo Shimada.

Winston frowned.

 

Hanzo had followed his brother to base, repentant, although unwilling to fully accept his brother’s forgiveness. He shrugged as he approved the team. Maybe it’d be good for them.

___

 

McCree frowns at his old com as it begins to beep again.

“Doesn’t this damn thing have a mute button?”

“You know you don’t have to keep it, _mijo_.”

“Jesse just chuck it, some of us are trying to sleep.”

“It’s noon, _Cosita._ ”

Jesse ducks as a pillow sails over his head.

“And I know. Makes me feel better to know they’re all okay, and y’know. That I could call if I wanted to.”

The older man across from him rolls his eyes, the whites flickering black and gray for a moment.

“God forbid you ever get into so much shit you need _Overwatch_ to bail you out.”

“Been there, done that.” Jesse winks. If looks could kill, the stare he got in reply would have struck him down.

“Don’t remind me.”

Jesse looked down at the blue com in his hands, frowning.

“You’re thinking too hard.”

“Just wonderin’ if you ever thought about going back.”Jesse looks up to try to get a better read of the other man’s reaction. He’s met by eyes that are black all the way through, set into dark skin marked over and over by war and by the cost of peace, ripped to shreds. Gabriel Reyes snorts, and the smoke swirls around him again. Once again he has dark brown eyes, a scar across his nose and cheek, and undercut black curls with little twists of gray, even his beard is silvery. He takes a sip of his coffee and quirks an eyebrow at Jesse. He’s answered the question.

“Alright.”

Gabriel sighs, putting the mug down.

“Look kid, I get it. The nostalgia, the heroism, the dream of being on the right side of the law again. But we’ve seen this through once. Hell, tried to get Jack out of there when I could. You know that. They chose to stand on the cliff’s edge, and the wind rose.”

Jesse shrugs.

“When you’re right you’re right.”

“I didn’t leave my husband for nothing kid.”

Jesse winces, but Gabriel just takes another sip of his coffee as he stands.

“C’mon. We have some Casinos to clean out. You coming _Cosita?_ ”

Gabriel just dissolves as the pillow flies through him, and reforms in time to catch his coffee before it hits the ground.

“Stop fucking calling me that.” violet eyes glare out from a pile of pillows.

“What’s your name for today, then?”

“...Maria.” She climbs out of bed, brushing out her hair with her fingers as she heads to the bathroom.

“Alright, We’ll rendezvous at lunch alright?”

  
Gabriel can practically feel her rolling her eyes at him, even through the bathroom door.

“ _Ahí nos vemos.”_

“Bye Maria!”

Jesse shrugs on a leather jacket as he ties his hair up.

“Bye, _Joel.”_

“...Bye Sombra.”

“ _Ahí nos vemos,_ Jesse.”

Gabriel lets out a long suffering sigh as he holds the door, putting Jesse’s cowboy hat on him as he passes.

“We’re in Vegas, you can have it back.”

The look of pure joy on Jesse’s face is so blinding Gabriel almost takes the hat back.

Almost.

____

 

For once in Hanzo’s life, he blends right into the background. He’s glad for the bridge piercing and the undercut, brother’s teasing or not, because in his bomber jacket he looks like just another tourist. Even Soldier 76- Morrison, Hanzo corrects himself- managed to pull off the tacky tourist t-shirt, shorts and sunglasses combination with a reasonable degree of success. None of that matters, because Genji is a shiny white cyborg, but at least _he_ isn’t wanted by several international law agencies.

 

Still, Hanzo can’t help but wonder how it’ll work out with Genji the most visible. His brother had been sure that McCree would be happy to see him, would surely come back for his sake.

Hanzo’s not so sure.

Their information had been spotty- Genji and Morrison had been sure Jesse was travelling alone, but the intelligence they were following described a man matching the cowboy’s description with a companion. Some people had mentioned seeing a young man with a beard and cowboy hat coming into diners with his father, chatting away in Spanish with the waitstaff. Some described a vigilante chasing gang activity with a violet eyed girlfriend like some kind of reverse Bonnie and Clyde. Genji had laughed at that. The vigilante part, certainly, but Lena had quipped as they talked with her on the com that Jesse was “gay as a maypole”.

Hanzo had also ignored the thumbs up Genji gave him at that.

 

Still, the conflicting stories traced a line across the south from the Atlanta airport, and when they’d ended up in a town in Nevada Genji had hustled them into the car and said there was only one reason to be in this part of the state.

So here they were- in Vegas.

And of all people to spot their target first- it had to be Hanzo.

He hangs back, pretending to look over the slot machines as he watches the man taking the Casino for everything they have. He has no idea what they’re playing, but it’s hard to miss the look of frustration on the dealer's face the the increasing number of chips on the Cowboy’s side of the table. He finally gets a better look at the man as he walks away from the table with his winnings and _okay. Maybe Genji wasn’t too far off._ Jesse McCree is gorgeous- scruffy with warm brown eyes. Eyes that are now solidly locked on his. He freezes as McCree moves towards him, _mission blown I should radio Genji and Morrison now-_

“Hey darlin’. You look a little lost. Better not to play those machines, they’ll take you for your life’s savings and leave ya on the street.”

Hanzo blinks.

McCree shoots him a bashful smile.

“Sorry, where’re my manners? I’m Joel.” He offers a hand. Hanzo tries a smile and takes it.

“Ah- Hanzo.” He flinches internally. _Why didn’t I have a codename?_

There’s a flash of something in the pools of those brown eyes, but it’s gone as fast as it comes.

“Nice ta meetcha. What’s a gorgeous guy like you doing here in Vegas by yourself?”

His tone is sultry, and it would have made Hanzo blush if it weren’t for the smallest hints of wariness in his posture, the tilt of his chin, the forced casual tone.

Hanzo forces a smirk, trying not to betray his nerves.

“I’m not alone right now, am I?”

McCree’s laugh warms him up like the midday sun.

“You’re a livewire, aintcha?”

Hanzo blanks. _Live wire?_ Had to be an idiom. Compliment? He said it like a compliment. He’s waiting for a reply. Hanzo can’t figure out what to say. Was that last part a rhetorical question?

He’s saved from his internal monologue by a woman hooking throwing an arm around the cowboy’s shoulders- pulling him down a foot to her height as he made a strangled yelp.

“Joel Gabriel Rodriguez how dare you keep your family waiting! Papi got us our table 20 minutes ago! Cash out and get your ass to dinner- Ah! Who’s this?”

“-Hanzo-”McCree choked out, trying to get his head loose from her grip.

Violet eyes fix on Hanzo. The woman is about his height- no one he recognizes, but her eyes are bright as she grins at him.

Hanzo nods respectfully.  
“Joel was just warning me about the slot machines.”

She snorts.

“Of course he was”

“Maria-!”

“You wanna come to dinner with us? I’m sure Joel-y would be happy to show you around and it’s hard to find any decent food if you don’t know where to look.”

Hanzo desperately tries to backtrack.  
“I wouldn’t want to intrude-”  
This was apparently the wrong thing to say, because the smaller woman grabs him by the wrist.

“Nonsense! We’re ridiculously lucky and Joel would love to have someone to spend his winnings on.”

She winks, and Hanzo feels a flush blooming across his cheeks. McCree renews his struggles, and she finally lets him go with a firm shove.

“Go cash out. Meet you at the restaurant!” She pokes him in the nose and hauls Hanzo off into the crowd before McCree can say anything else.

 

Hanzo’s last thought before the cowboy hat is out of sight is that he has _no idea_ where Genji or Morrison are and if they find him this is going to look _bad._

 

____

 

Gabriel is _not_ amused by the fact that Sombra appears at the diner with a baffled looking Japanese man.

“Maria, what have I told you about kidnapping strangers.”

Sombra put her hands on her hips and exaggerated a pout.

“Joel was showing him around! I told him we’d go on ahead so he could cash out before he gambled all his winnings away again.”

Gabriel nods as though that explanation makes sense (not that Jesse would lose even a single cent in a casino) and shifts his gaze to their guest.

“I presume you’ve already met my children then. I’m Gabriel.”

The man seems to begin a bow, then remember himself and offers his hand.

“Hanzo. Sorry to impose-”

Gabriel waved him off, gesturing to the booth.

“We have plenty of room and Joel’s got the devil’s luck. Dinner is on him and i’m sure he’d be happy for your company.” He rolls his eyes, the part of beleaguered father not quite an act anymore. Hanzo reluctantly sits down next to Sombra. He looks nervous, but that gives nothing away. Anyone nabbed by Sombra would be. Still, there had to be a reason she brought him by. He waves down the waitress to get their guest a coffee and himself a refill, and settles into the booth with practiced nonchalance.

“So what brings you to Vegas?”

Hanzo shrugs.

“Honestly, my brother. We came to America on a business trip but he seems intent on burning through what we’ve earned from being here and more besides.”

Gabriel snorts.

“Did you need some time away or have my children ripped you away from your responsibilities?”

Hanzo gives a real chuckle at that, it has a different timbre.

“I was looking for him, but I daresay he won’t miss me for a while.”

Sombra gives a too-loud laugh at that.

“Ah family. Always running off to play and leaving other people to do the real work.”

Hanzo _flinches._

Gabriel stares Sombra down with a look that both conveys a fatherly _you’re-being-rude_ and a boss’s _we-are-discussing-this-later._

She continues on as though she hasn’t noticed the reaction.

“Once we were on this roadtrip down to Dorado and _Papi_ was meeting a client- he’s an artist- and I took a nap and when I woke up Joel was just fucking nowhere. Went looking and I found him just asleep on the counter in a bar! I mean jetlag is a bitch but I had to pay for the _pendejo’s_ drinks and call Papi because I couldn’t move his heavy ass.”

 

Gabriel snorts. About half of that story is actually true, and it was supposed to be a stakeout. Jesse had actually fallen asleep on the bar, although Sombra had absolutely no trouble hauling him by the collar back along the street.

“I remember that. Poor Joel, we’d just been in Los Angeles visiting the _abuelos._ Kid never takes melatonin when we travel. Won’t even have a cup of tea.”

A flicker of a smile crosses Hanzo’s face.

“I am rather bad with jetlag myself, though I would never turn down a cup of tea.”

“Ah that’s the spirit kid! When Joel was younger he’d drink it if I put flavored coffee creamer in it. Irish cream was his favorite, caught him drinking it straight out of the container once.”

 

Younger in this case meant 20, and Jesse had been very drunk.

 

Hanzo gives another genuine laugh at that.

“He sounds like a handful.”

“Always has been. I remember he came up to me one day cryin’ his head off and, in tears, confesses that he’s gay like it’s gonna be some big thing. Had to show him pictures of the guy I’d been seeing before he’d calm down. Then when he comes to pick me up from work he runs up to my boyfriend, in the middle of the fucking office, and just yells ‘hi mom’.” Gabriel’s almost surprised that the memory of Jack doesn’t sting- the laughing blue eyes of a younger, happier man. _Hey son._ Jesse had run for the hills.

 

Honestly it’s amazing how many of the stunts Jesse pulled at 17 or 20 sound like shit a 10 year old would do.

Hanzo looks like he’s about to ask a question, but there’s the heavy thud of footsteps and Jesse throws himself into the seat next to Gabriel, winded.

“Hope they haven’t been bothering you-” He’s got eyes only for their guest, and as Hanzo looks back at him Sombra has enough time to make a ‘bletch’ face at Gabriel.

“Oh, on the contrary. Your father has been telling stories.” Hanzo’s hiding a smile behind the sip he takes from his coffee cup as Jesse turns beet red.

“Oh no-”

“Oh _yes._ ” Sombra winks. Jesse groans and puts his head in his hands.

“Y’all won’t let me live-”

“Maybe I would if you’d drop that accent.” Gabriel lets out a dramatic sigh.

“It only reminds me of your mother-”

“Oh please tell me you didn’t tell that story about Jack-”

Gabriel sees Hanzo react out of the corner of his eye- mouth forming the name. At the same moment the door rings again as it opens and there, in the fucking flesh-

_Speak of the devil._

Gabriel sighs. He didn’t even get to have his food.

“Well it was lovely to meet you Hanzo but unfortunately I think that’s our cue. Jesse- _run.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cosita- little thing
> 
> The calling jack mom is from a comic by http://scientiafantasia.tumblr.com/ who is half of my headcanons for blackwatch everything and does great comics


	2. Giving Chase

Hanzo has no time to react to the new name before McCree is up and sprinting to the other door. In the time it takes him to blink Gabriel is just _ gone _ , and there’s a crash as the cups on the table go flying from a displaced weight. The violet eyed woman has followed. Hanzo curses as he gets up, Jack flying by him as he sprints for the door McCree has already made his way out of. 

 

He’s not even surprised.

He picks the only unbroken mug of coffee off of the table, downs it in one long swig, and tosses a wad of bills onto the table before he makes his way out. 

Jack is turning in slow circles, letting out a long stream of curse words as he looks around.

Hanzo taps his earpiece.

[[Genji, I found McCree but Jack appears to have scared him off again.]]

Jack shoots him a glare that would make him worry that the old veteran understands Japanese, were the man not so ridiculously paranoid to begin with. 

_ [[What happened?]] _

Hanzo tries not to be too smug as he relays the descriptions of McCree’s family. 

The line is quiet for a long time- too long for Genji, who surely would have some retort by now. Hanzo’s about to check his communicator and ensure it’s still working when a white blur surges out of the crowd and grabs his shoulders- spitting rapid fire japanese-

[[What did you say the older man looked like? He knew Jack? He said he knew Jesse when he was younger? He called him by his name?]]

“Genji, slow down-”

Genji’s grip on his shoulders tightens.

“Did you get com footage?”

“Of course-” 

Genji grabs the com from his ear before he can say anything else, pulling up the video Hanzo had begun recording as Sombra pulled him through the crowd. His hands are shaking.

“Fuck- Jack, did you see him?”

“See-”

“Reyes, Jack! Did you-”

“What?”

Hanzo holds up his hands, moving between them.

“ _ Who is Reyes?” _

 

______

 

Reyes is flopped on his back on the bed, practicing deep breathing exercises while Jesse goes through the pictures Sombra snapped of Hanzo.

“Why’d he have to be so pretty.” Jesse mutters, mournful. Sombra rolls her eyes.

“You’re really trying to bang your old flame’s brother?”

Jesse waves her off.

“Wasn’t like that with Genji. An’ anyway not like I got a chance anymore.”

“You realize he tried to kill Genji, right?”

McCree shrugged.

“We’ve all done shit we wish we didn’t.”

 

“I appreciate that neither of you are obsessing on the fact that my husband is back from the dead, but the flirting is getting rather irritating as well.”

 

“Ex-husband!” Sombra chirps, inspecting her nails. 

Gabriel shoots her a glare that would have made lesser men wet themselves. She only tilts her hand to look for imperfections. 

Jesse only shrugs.

“Well you made it out. Guess he coulda too. Didn’t have to bum rush the table-”

“You know I think the only one of us he could see from the door was you,  _ Jessito _ .” Sombra grinned at him. 

“Momma wants to be reunited with her son!” 

“Please stop.”

“Yes, Please stop.” Gabriel seconded, still flopped on the bed.

Jesse scowled.

“That makes it even worse. The hell’s he doing here?”

“With two other overwatch operatives. Oh jee- I wonder.” Sombra imitated Jesse’s accent, pantomiming confusion with a finger tapping her chin. 

“Well we haven’t made enough to get out of town yet, so what do you suggest we do?” Jesse shot back, glaring.

Gabriel dissolved, reconstituting into the third chair at the table.

“Normally I’d say we run, but I taught Genji how to track. We probably won’t lose him.”

Jesse mumbled something that sounded like  _ fuckin’ heroes. _

Sombra just looked thoughtful, which was making Gabriel nervous. The longer Sombra was quiet for the worse the idea that came out of her mouth would be. 

“...What if we just talked to them?”

“What?” Jesse beat Gabriel to his reaction, rounding on Sombra. Sombra held up a hand.

“Oh c’mon  _ cabron,  _ you might just get to see your man again. They’re not here to kidnap you, probably. They probably think they’re helping. Your bounty is at like 60 mil now.”

“That’s a lot of probablys-”

“What about Jack?” Gabe interjected.

“What about him? Sad old man can’t do shit, knowing you’re alive or not.”

“Did he see me?”

“Well-”

 

_____

 

Jack’s thrown his visor on the bed as he paces, letting out a long string of swear words in an accent that’s sounding more and more like McCree’s by the minute. Hanzo’s having a cup of mediocre hotel-provided tea, turning over the information Genji had given him about Reyes in his mind. A man supposedly killed in the swiss base explosion- father to his unit, tough as nails and able to make the tough calls when he needed to. Compared to some of the stories Genji tells about Reyes, the old latino man in the diner seems downright gentle. The photos in the Overwatch archives are certainly of a younger version of the same man, but somehow there were less scars today. 

 

He smiles to himself, imagining a younger McCree. Of course, with Genji’s information the age has changed from 8 or 9 to 19 or 20, but the escapades are still sweet to him. A family unit, surviving in a military environment.    
Genji has no idea who the woman was- and Hanzo discovers with confusion that she doesn’t appear in his video at all. Some clips seem oddly shortened or choppy where she would have appeared. He remembers the glint of her eyes.  _ Smart. Knows too much.  _

But McCree was something else. Somehow genuine, even through the codenames and posturing. He could tell they all cared about each other.

_ Seems like he’s in good hands. _

The thought almost hurts- if they don’t need to bring him back he’s likely to never see McCree again. But- 

Jack is still pacing and swearing, and Hanzo eyes him.

Not likely to let this go. Just as well. Genji had slipped up to the roof to be alone for a while.

Hanzo makes a decision and heads for the door, slipping out before Jack breaks his stream of curses to pursue. 

He heads back to the diner- his hair down and his clothing changed to look a little different. To his surprise, there they are, at the same table. As though they never left.

Reyes catches his eye and barks out a laugh, saying something in Spanish. Jesse pops his head over the booth and stares at him, bug eyed. Hanzo can’t help but smile at that, crossing over to them with his hands in his pockets and sliding into the open seat again. 

“Hello again.”

He notes with surprise that there’s already four coffee cups. 

“Were you expecting someone?”

“Just you.” The violet eyed girl grins, and Jesse rolls his eyes.

“Don’t gotta be creepy  _ Cosita. _ ”

She glares at him, and Hanzo snorts as he takes that as an invitation to help himself to the coffee cup. Reyes is staring him down in a way that’s more assessing then threatening. 

“Maybe we should try introductions again.” He doesn’t offer his own. Hanzo offers a hand.

“Hanzo Shimada.”

“Gabriel Reyes.”

The girl gives an exaggerated gesture with the coffee cup. 

“Sombra Reyes.”

“Jesse McCree Reyes-Morrison.”

Gabriel glowers at Jesse, who just hides his grin behind his coffee cup. It takes a second for the name to click in Hanzo’s mind. 

“Morrison as in Jack Morrison?”

Gabriel raises a single salt-and-pepper eyebrow.

“You weren’t aware?”

Hanzo wasn’t even aware of what he is supposedly unaware of, so he settles for shaking his head and taking another drink of coffee.

“Jack n’ Gabe got hitched a little after I got recruited.” Jesse supplied, smiling. His eyes seemed distant, as though turning fond memories over in his mind. Gabriel looks considerably less fond, and Hanzo notes that the scar on the edge of his mouth goes white against dark skin as his features tense. The older man tries to play off his discomfort with a long look at the menu.

“Think you’d better stick with Reyes, kid. Morrison didn’t do shit for anybody.”

There seems to be nothing to be said to that, and Reyes calls the waiter over and orders for everyone at the table with the good taste of a father and the commanding air of an officer. 

He actually starts as he looks back at Hanzo as the waiter walks away.

“Oh, oops. Should have asked what you wanted. Habits-”

“It is fine. I would not have known what to order.”

Gabriel just nods at that, taking a long swig of his coffee. He still looks uncomfortable, and Jesse looks more than a little guilty. Hanzo decides to get to business.

“I was sent with Genji and Soldier 76 to convince McCree to come back to Overwatch. Winston seems concerned for your safety with your bounty rising.”

Jesse sighs heavily, propping his chin in his hand.

“Winston was never much good at staying out of things.”

Hanzo nodded.

“I am of the same opinion. Genji was convinced you were travelling alone, despite evidence to the contrary. Perhaps Winston thought the same.”

“Woulda been fine even on my own-”

“No you wouldn’t have, mijo. You’d drive yourself nuts in a week with no one to talk to.” Gabriel tousled Jesse’s hair, knocking his hat off. 

Sombra snorted as Jesse scowled.

“I went on plenty of solo ops-” he protested.

“And you called me on the com nearly  _ constantly. _ Dad, I saw a leaf move. Jefe, a lady is out walking her dog. Pops, can we go out to eat when I get back?” Gabriel was doing a truly terrible impression of McCree’s accent, and a laugh slipped out before Hanzo could stop it. It was undignified- he wheezed a little. 

When he finally got himself under control he met McCree’s gaze- all traces of irritation gone from his expression in place of a contented grin.  _ Warm. Beautiful.  _

Sombra cleared her throat.

“ _ Jefe,  _ Jack’s on the move.”

Gabriel just sighed heavily, trading the exhausted expression for a smile at the waitress who delivered their food. Hanzo was a little baffled by the pile of french toast placed in front of him, but took a tentative bite.  _ Heavenly.  _ Sweet and fluffy without being too soft. As Hanzo tucked in, Gabriel pulled a datapad out of a messenger bag he had tucked by his side, flicking through pages. The old veteran looked like nothing so much as an old man reading a newspaper over a pile of pancakes. 

He lowers the datapad and looks at Hanzo, stern. 

“Can we trust you?”

Hanzo blinks in surprise. McCree immediately rounds on Gabriel, ready to protest. Gabriel shifts his attention, glaring.

“I’m not about to ask him to betray Overwatch or anybody, mijo.”

Hanzo nods slowly as he chews, swallowing another bite of French Toast.

“As long as that stands, yes.”

Gabriel smiles, shooting a smug look at McCree.

“We’re going to make a run for it. I’m well aware of how stubborn Jack is, so he’s going to stay in pursuit. You and your brother should probably go back to headquarters, because Jack is...easily frustrated.”

Hanzo snorts.

“My brother is rather stubborn as well.”

Gabriel smirks.

“Ah yes, my other wayward child. Well, I hope they don’t drive you too crazy.”

He waves a hand and gets the waitress and some takeout boxes. He loads up the food with an unhurried air.

“Sombra, let’s go ahead.” He tossed a card onto the table towards Jesse and helps Sombra up politely. She gives them a cheeky wave and then they’re both gone, blending effortlessly into the crowd with the takeout bags. McCree watches them go with an expression of vague irritation before he looks back to Hanzo.

“So what’re you gonna do?”

“Hmm?” Hanzo raises an eyebrow and takes another bite of the French toast, feigning ignorance. The faint, smiling twitch at the edge of Jesse’s lip indicates he’s not fooled at all, but he continues anyway.

“You know you guys are in for the biggest wild goose chase of your lives. You gonna give the game away or run?”

Hanzo grins at that.

“There are very few things a dragon cannot catch, should he commit himself to the chase.”

That had Jesse smiling, warmth in his eyes. 

“I reckon you’re on. Gonna give us a head start, at least?”

There was a warmth pooling in Hanzo’s stomach that felt entirely unfamiliar, his heart doing laps in his chest. He raised an eyebrow.

“I am still eating, aren’t I?” 

Jesse grinned.

“You’re somethin else, aintcha?”

He didn’t understand that expression either, so only shrugged. 

“Better pay the bill and get running, cowboy.”

Jesse’s laugh made him feel like he was on fire. 

 

“Reckon I’d better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all if anyone has any mchanzo or reaper76 prompts shoot me a message or ask at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/sheoftoomanynames and if I think i can do it justice i'll give it a shot
> 
> ...also open to like, genyatta and symbra. and also mercy/genji/zenyatta. and pretty much any lesbian pairings.


	3. Country Roads (interlude)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly filler (and a smidge songfic-y with some radio hijinks) if that's not your thing, notes at the end for the plot points

_...This next song is dedicated to Gabe Reyes, from his daughter Maria.  _

 

Three pairs of eyes locked on the radio that had just come to life, the scenery passing by at a steady pace outside of the van. Jack frowned, hitting the power button. The radio spluttered and then the volume increased. 

 

_ Aw, this is sweet. Maria would like to say “Hey dad, me and Jesse would like you to know that we’re proud of how you’ve handled yourself after the divorce. We’re in your corner!” _

 

**_I see you driving 'round town with the guy I love_ **

**_and I'm like,_ **

**_"FUCK YOU!"_ **

**_Ooo,ooo,oooo_ **

Jack began jabbing the radio with increasing desperation, the volume continually increasing. Genji had turned down the volume on his visor to try to suppress his snickering.  

 

**_I guess the change in my pocket wasn't enough_ **

**_I'm like,_ **

**_"FUCK YOU!_ **

**_And fuck him too."_ **

 

Genji was wheezing. Hanzo just cracked a smile and rolled down his window.

 

Jack settled back into his chair, arms crossed over his chest, trying to look calm as the radio blared loud enough to get glares from passing cars. 

 

**_And although there's pain in my chest_ **

**_I still wish you the best_ **

**_With a..._ **

**_"FUCK YOU!"_ **

 

His eyebrow was twitching under his visor. Hanzo reached across the backseat and rolled down the window on the opposite side as the self driving car shot down the freeway. The wind wasn’t quite loud enough to drown out the wails of the song cover, but Hanzo was finding that he rather enjoyed the brush of the wind and the rolling scenery outside. They’re settling in for a rather long drive. There’s a faint beep from his datapad.

 

_ Sombra: Jesse wants me to say sorry in advance _

_ Hanzo: I do not mind the music _

_ Sombra: K, good. _

 

Hanzo lowered the datapad and looked out the window, not bothering to question how Sombra had connected. The radio and the security tapes made it clear enough that where electronics were involved, she could do what she wanted. 

 

**_I guess he's an Xbox and I'm more Atari,_ **

**_But the way you play your game ain't fair._ **

**_I pity the fool_ **

**_That falls in love with you_ **

 

____

“Oooooooooh, I've got some news for you!” Sombra and Jesse sang along from the backseat. Gabe shot them a smile in the rearview mirror, keeping lookout in the front. 

“Do you have a plan for the rest of their drive?”

Sombra grinned, hoisting the datapad.

“All of your oldies,  _ Abuelo _ . I’ll switch it over to the playlist as soon as the announcer says her bit about commercial free Sundays.”

Gabriel let out a dark chuckle.

“Atta girl. They’re definitely in range?”

Sombra snorted.

“I could play this off his earpiece undercover in the arctic circle. But Jesse left the hint so they’re definitely on the right track.”

 

___

Hanzo, resolutely ignoring the pounding of petty pop music, looked into his hands at the mug they’d left him. He hadn’t noticed- the waitress had been the one to push it towards him when she was clearing the table. Not one of theirs. It was fairly nondescript, but the side angled away from Hanzo had a silvery inscription of a castle on a skyline. Genji had watched enough old princess movies- Hanzo knew that building, knew the silvery meteor painted arcing like a rainbow above it. 

 

Still, he was incredulous. Apparently, this recovery mission turned wild goose chase was turning to a vacation at Disneyland. Genji had been excited, despite their near-miss at catching up and the revelation about his old commander. And to Hanzo’s surprise, Jack had not outright ridiculed their next location. He’d gotten them all park hopper tickets, grumbling something about needing to cover more ground despite the fact that no one had questioned him. 

Of course, Jack’s lightened mood had only lasted until the radio turned on. Jack had made a motion towards it after 5 or 6 songs from around the turn of the century, all as angry and bitter as the first, and it had clicked off for a moment before a heavily accented voice cut in. 

**_Hola papi!_ **

Hanzo didn’t look up from the radio, pulling out his datapad as Genji and Jack both stared at the radio. 

_ Hanzo: What are you planning? _

**_This is a recording, before you start demanding answers from the poor car-_ **

_ Sombra: You’ll see _

**_I just wanted to help you guys get started! I’m rooting for you Jack,  I hope your marriage isn’t as dead as you are inside._ **

 

Jack was pulling his rifle out to shoot the radio when it started playing again. Hanzo finally looked up, and all the car’s passengers stared at the radio in mute horror as it began to play  _ It’s a small world.  _

Jack shot it. 

It was silent for less then a second before the song started to blast out of every electronic device in the car- with the exception, hanzo noted- of his own datapad and com. 

Genji shrieked, pulling his visor off as it blasted into his helmet. There was a faint ping under the noise of disney, and hanzo glanced back at his tablet.

_ Sombra: put in headphones _

Hanzo did as he was told before he shot the message back.

_ Hanzo: Why? _

She didn’t reply, but the headphones did start playing a rather soft country song. He had to suppress an eye roll, but smiled fondly. 

_ Hanzo: Thanks. _

_ Sombra: tell him yourself. Your hint is different from Jack’s.  _

That made Hanzo smile, though he tried to suppress it as he caught Genji looking at him from the corner of his eye. 

He looked resolutely out the window. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter:
> 
> -Jesse left a disney mug on the counter for Hanzo, giving them the hint to their next destination  
> -Sombra's more specific hint for Jack was the song "it's a small world"  
> -Hanzo's tablet played a country song instead, partially because McCree thinks his odds are better if he rescues his crush from Sombra's horrorshow, and partially because that's his hint for where McCree will meet him in Disneyland.


	4. Cinderella

 

Hanzo’s suspicions about Soldier’s enthusiasm had settled into a dead certainty in his gut as the older man rose before the sun to hustle them both out of their beds in the LA safehouse and into the rental car- citing peak hours and rambling about line times. Genji and Hanzo just exchanged a look. 

_ Morrison is a Disney fan. _

The thought was honestly pretty amusing but Hanzo figured that the trip would be more tolerable if the old soldier was in a good mood, and bit back any sarcastic remarks. 

Genji openly shared his enthusiasm, riding shotgun so they could all look over the map of the park and plan their day. It was, Hanzo noted, devolving from a mission plan to something resembling a family squabble- Genji using green stickers to star the places he wanted to go while Jack used red. Hanzo had a blue roll in his hands, but strongly suspected his day was going to take a rather different trajectory. 

Morrison seemed to catch himself as Genji started asking about extra money for souvenirs. 

“This is a mission, Agent, we shouldn’t even be prioritizing rides-”

“Commander Morrison.” Hanzo cut off the soldier before the older man’s shoulders slumped any further. He seemed to have said it more for himself. 

“We should use the stars in case we split up, so we have a list of options for where the others are if we go offline. And there’s no harm in using a bit of merchandise to blend in. We need to look relaxed.”

It was easy, Hanzo reflected, to see why Reyes had been left blackwatch instead of Morrison. Even with a visor covering half his face, the man was a  _ terrible  _ liar. 

“Solid tactic, Agent Shimada.”

Somehow, the way Genji’s head was tilted at Hanzo conveyed the full sentiment of ‘can-you-believe-that-this-old-coot-thinks-he’s-fooling-anyone’.

Hanzo just nodded gravely, his serious expression making his brother let out a muffled snort.

“Thank you sir.”

Hanzo pulled his own sticker roll loose and put a blue star in the center of frontierland.    
___

 

It had taken them no time at all to get into the park, to Hanzo’s surprise. Morrison had the passes set up on his com and they simply breezed through a full body scanner and headed into the park. Hanzo felt rather naked without his bow, but he consoled himself with the thought that his jacket was probably 70% knives by mass. Thank god for Overwatch tech throwing off the body scanners, though if they could get through that probably meant that others could. 

Genji had gone with Morrison to “It’s a Small World” despite Hanzo’s attempts to convince them to look around other parts of the park first.

He shrugged to himself. They’d seen enough of Sombra that they should have known better. Not his responsibility.

 

He got off the train next to the Haunted Mansion and took a walk along the water, smiling to himself as Frontierland came into view- the pressed in shops and warm wooden accents. He was fairly sure that most of Disney had been reconstructed with Hard-light technology and enhanced, but this place still looked like a postcard from an era forgotten even before the crisis. It was rather charming.

Hanzo couldn’t help but hum the tune Sombra had played him as he walked along the fronts of shops and the lines for ride, collecting tickets for a few to come back later (and if he picked up two of each, who would know? Maybe Genji would come by.) He snorted to himself. He really doubted it. 

  
To his credit, he didn’t  _ actually  _ stab McCree when the man came up behind him and covered his eyes. But it was a very near thing, and didn’t stop the cowboy from being thrown flat on his ass to the dirt-packed ground. 

He held his hands up in mock surrender, a grin playing out across his features. 

“I’m your huckleberry, sugar.”

Hanzo let out a dramatic sigh as he offered the cowboy a hand.

“I’m almost certain that’s not a real phrase, and if it was, your context is probably wrong.”

McCree gave a cheerful shrug, brushing off his jeans once Hanzo’s pulled him completely upright.

Hanzo eyed him contemplatively, allowing himself a small smile.  _ Ridiculous.  _ McCree stuck his thumbs in his belt loops and grinned from under the brim of his stenson.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

Hanzo rolled his eyes.

“You invited me.”

“Nah. I just left you a hint. Like a glass slipper.”

“I cannot picture you wearing anything but your cowboy boots, let alone glass high heels.” 

McCree had started to move down the street, and Hanzo had unconsciously fallen into step beside him.

“Hey now. I’ll have you know I am excellent at walkin’ in heels.”

“You’ll have to prove it to me sometime.”   
“You’re on.”

“Hm-?”

McCree tapped his ear. Instantly, the sound of “it’s a small world” started playing- a tinny backdrop.

Then came the significantly louder roll of a spanish accent. 

“Som, do you think you could get glass shoes in my size? With heels?”

The reply sounded amused, and McCree went a little pink, sputtering something in Spanish. There was a little more back and forth before McCree grinned back at Hanzo.

“Later, for sure. You wanna get somethin’ to eat before you get your angry extraction requests?”

Hanzo looked at McCree for a long moment, his expression betraying nothing. 

The silence was just starting to get uncomfortable when Hanzo popped the earpiece out and threw it back over his shoulder, listening for the quiet ‘plip’ as it went into the water.

“Roller coaster.” he informed McCree, who looked dumbfounded. Hanzo was fighting back a smile as he gestured down the street.

“Lead the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lalalala, the tumblr is https://www.tumblr.com/blog/faiahae now (I made it match!)
> 
> more Gabe and Jack duking it out like immature children next chapter!


	5. ...After All

 

Honestly, Jack had been ready to shoot something since the moment he sat down in the boat, even with Genji laughing and pointing to the different countries and quipping about their overwatch colleagues. (Genji had even gotten a chuckle reminding him of that ridiculous barmaid apron Reinhardt wore to cook). 

 

But of course, the ride “mysteriously” broke down halfway through- far enough from either exit that there was no way he could get to the door without drawing a ridiculous amount of attention. He’d tried to put in his headphones only to discover they were playing the same tune about a second delayed.

_ Really is Gabe’s kid. _

 

“Fancy meeting you here.”

 

Jack practically broke his neck spinning in his seat. There, where absolutely  _ no one  _ had been a second before, was Gabriel. 

His heart felt fit to burst. His old lover looked exactly the same, save a few curls of gray. He was wearing sunglasses and a pair of mickey mouse ears.

He was leaning against the side of the boat, and Jack could feel the distance, even if Gabe’s posture was casual. 

“You say that like this wasn’t an obvious set up.” Thank god, Genji had jumped in after seeing that Jack couldn’t string a sentence together. Gabe snorted.

“You walked right into it.”

“...Of course.” Jack’s voice came out soft, and he felt Genji start next to him. Gabe didn’t seem surprised, just lowered the sunglasses enough to pin him in place with a flat black stare- eyes like the void of space.

“Going soft, golden boy?”

“You’ve adopted two kids.” Quipped Genji. 

Reyes snorted.

“Three, idiot. You never looked at your paperwork.”

Jack barely hears Genji spluttering, only having eyes for Gabe.

“I’m-”

“Don’t say it.”

“Gabe-”

“ **Don’t say it.** ” Gabriel pulled off the sunglasses, and his skin started to dissolve. Scars opened, bone poked through his eyebrow and his jaw. 

“There’s nothing more to say. Stop following.”

“I can’t.” Jack was starting to get his confidence back, and with it a fair surge of anger.

“That’s the one thing you can’t ask of me.”

Gabriel pushed his sunglasses up, the corners of his lips twitching.

“Got some spirit after all. Guess we’ll see how much.”

Something in Jack broke. Instincts took back over. He lunged.

 

And went straight into the water, passing through an empty space where there had just been Gabriel.

 

As people started yelling and asking if he was alright and security alarms went off, Genji just looked blankly at a dancing figure in a kimono and mused.

“You know I always thought that scene in Star Wars was overdone. But I think I kinda get it now?”

____

 

Jesse’s com goes off halfway through what turned into a sampling platter, since Hanzo has tried absolutely none of the southern food they’re serving in this part of the park, and McCree had plenty of liberated Talon funds courtesy of his sister. So they were working their way through a truly obscene amount of food when Jesse checked the com and pulled a face.

“Incoming.”

Hanzo hardly had time to raise an eyebrow before a heavyset Latino man in a black tank top and sunglasses materialized on one side of him, and the smaller bundle of neon colors and freckles shimmered into existence on the other. 

Though he knew who they were, it took a moment for Gabriel and Sombra to really register. Not the suddenness of their appearance- living with Lena had killed his ability to surprised- but the truly cliche tourist getup threw him for a loop. Sombra was wearing bright pink mickey mouse lensed sunglasses and a headband that sported a cheerful purple and pink tophat. Gabriel’s shirt had a big snowflake on it with “let it go” written in flowing script. Somehow, they both had drinks in their hands and matching dejected expressions.

 

Jesse cringed.

“Didn’t go so well?”

“Jackie boy turned into a blushing, stammering idiot.” Gabriel monotoned, reaching forward to rip a piece off a bread bowl. 

Hanzo cringed a little at that.

Sombra grinned.

“And then he jumped off the boat!”

“He what?”

“Yeah.” Gabe monotoned, not even looking the slightest bit cheered up. Sombra waved it off.

“Yeah, that was hard to watch. But I know what’ll cheer us all right up!” 

Jesse eyed her. Gabriel looked up with interest. 

Sombra swung a heavy looking bag up from under her chair and heaved it onto Jesse’s lap.

“Ask and ye shall receive.”

Hanzo wondered if he should be worried about how excited Jesse looked. He dug into the bag like a kid with a christmas present, not bothering to take it step by step and just shuffling around in the layers until he pulled them free.

 

A rather generously sized pair of glass high heels. 

 

There was a dry wheezing from Hanzo’s right that it took him more than a minute to identify as Gabriel Reyes laughing. 

“Oh boy, mijo. We’re heading to the castle next. I have a childhood’s worth of photos to make up for.”

Jesse was moving to shuck off his boots, but Sombra smacked his arm. 

“Wait till we get there.”   
She turned away from Jesse, winking at Hanzo and mouthing-

_ Help him put them on. _

Hanzo went crimson, burying his face in his hands as Gabriel and Sombra laughed and Jesse spluttered, trying to demand information. 

 

A family, after all.

  
  



	6. The Stroke of Midnight

Hanzo marvelled at how easily he fell into step with them, between Sombra and Jesse. Gabriel was on Jesse’s other side, occasionally giving him an affectionate shove hard enough to send him stumbling into the archer. 

Hanzo found he was much less irritated by that then he should be, especially when Jesse flushed and stammered out apologies. 

They reached the castle steps in no time at all, Hanzo taking in the construction in glimmering hard-light (and the ramps to the sides, which was nice). 

Jesse plopped himself down on the bottom step without preamble, working on a latch on his boot. 

 

Apparently removing them was more of a trial then Hanzo had realized, and Sombra took one side and shot the archer a look.

Hanzo moved to help with the right foot, even as Jesse spluttered protests. It only took Sombra a moment to give up trying tactics and resorting to standing up, leaning back with her feet fully planted and her whole weight on the boot. Hanzo saw it shift, and opened his mouth to articulate a warning that didn’t manage to leave him lips before the boot flew loose with an audible pop and Sombra flew with it- landing flat on her ass on the glassy tile of the square. Hanzo winced, letting go of McCree’s boot to go offer her a hand.

Gabriel was laughing again- loud and booming enough that other people had looked over and were laughing along. It wasn’t hard to extrapolate from Jesse and his crestfallen expression, his missing shoe firmly in Sombra’s grip.

 

She threw it at him, and Gabriel ducked as Jesse barked out a protest. Gabriel went after the shoe, and Hanzo offered Sombra a hand. 

She took it, glaring at Jesse over his shoulder as he pulled her up.

“He got the other one off by himself, the  _ pendejo.” _

Hanzo bit back a grin.

“You got the more difficult one.”

Sombra just grabbed the shoebox from Gabriel and shoved it into his arms.

“Go get him.”

  
  


Despite Sombra’s suggestion (and probably her desire to embarrass him) Hanzo initially let Jesse take the box from him to try to get the shoes on himself. However, it took less than a minute to see that wasn’t working out. The heels were too high, and Jesse’s legs too long, and he was twisting himself into a pretzel trying to find an angle to put them on from the shallow step.

“Do you want-”

“Yes.”

Hanzo flushed at both the speed and the emphasis of McCree’s answer, and the cowboy just coughed.

“I mean, it’d be a big help, yeah. Not really at quite the right- yeah.” 

Hanzo was sure Jesse’s cheeks were a bit pink as well, but he tried to tune the sight of a flushed Jesse out along with the very distinctive sound of giggles from behind him (When he shot a glare over his shoulder, Sombra was nowhere to be seen. He was sure that meant absolutely nothing).

Hanzo settled on his knees at Jesse’s feet and took the first shoe, trying not to get distracted by how soft McCree’s leg was, or by the layer of dark hair on it. Jesse’s foot went into the shoe with more ease then should have been possible, heel settling into the arch of the frosted glass as though they’d been made to fit.

He bit down any remarks and put on the other shoe, trying not to notice the way he could still feel the warm rough curl of Jesse’s ankle in his palm even after he let go. He stood a little stiffly, offering McCree a hand and a smile he hoped didn’t look too forced. McCree looked a little dazed, blinking up at Hanzo with his lips slightly parted. Hanzo swallowed, lifting his hand a little higher.

“Do you need a hand up-?”

“Oh! Yeah. Thank you kindly.”

McCree’s palm was warm and calloused in Hanzo’s as he pulled the other man up, the weight a merciful distraction. He had to crane his neck to look up once McCree was fully upright- his already considerable height boosted by quite a bit.

McCree chuckled.

“When’d you get so short?”

Hanzo raised an eyebrow, trying to keep his expression stony. He was sure he wasn’t succeeding. 

“You Americans are foolishly tall already, and certainly don’t need the advantage.”

“Hey now, you challenged me.”

Hanzo couldn’t help the smile breaking through.

“You are only standing. You’ve proved nothing yet-”

 

“Hanzo!”

The archer’s blood went cold. That was Genji’s voice. Shit.

McCree grinned.

“Hey honey, got another wager for you.”

“What?”

“Can’t just walk in heels.”

Hanzo barely had time to blink before he was being swept into McCree’s arms, in a bridal hold. McCree took off in the next moment, and Hanzo barely had time to squack and register the flash of a camera in a patch of empty air before they were hurtling away from the castle, the sound of angry Japanese yelling in the arch behind them. 

“- also know how to run in em-”

“Stop talking!”

Hanzo was holding McCree’s shirt in a death grip as they shot through the park at a dead sprint. 

He could still hear yelling behind them, not getting much further away. 

“McCree-”

“I know sugar-”

“Put me down, save yourself.”

Hanzo could feel McCree laughing more then hearing it.

“-Not a chance-”

Hanzo tested his weight from his position, figuring in the strength of arms. 

“-Hanzo-”

Hanzo tucked a ticket for the haunted mansion into McCree’s front pocket.

“See you later.”

“-Hanzo!”

Hanzo tucked his legs into McCree’s arm and kicked off, flipping backwards out of his grip and landing on his feet as McCree’s momentum propelled him forward.

At least, he initially landed on his feet. The backwards momentum combined with the weight difference of his prosthetics managed to knock him onto his back, and he was contemplating the blue sky when Genji’s visor-less glare blocked it out.

“Anija-...”

“Yes?”

Genji paused, squinting in suspicion at the smile Hanzo wasn’t quite suppressing.

“I am not sure if I am angry about the mission or angry you didn’t ask me along.”

Hanzo snorted.   
“We both know it is the latter.”

“Next time?”

“Next time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly you guys, you know when you're sitting on a step that's just a little too low and you can't get your shoes on or off?   
> If I'm completely wrong about that being a thing that happens, then Jesse's just bullshitting to get Hanzo to help him. Up to y'all.


	7. The Pumpkin King

 

Genji takes his duties as an irritating younger sibling very seriously, now that he’s allowed that role in Hanzo’s life. So when Jack takes his old man nap and Hanzo sneaks out despite giving his word, Genji suits up in his oversized hoodie and his mickey mouse hat and he heads off behind Hanzo.

 

Hanzo’s reached the haunted mansion and Genji can just barely see a cowboy hat in the distance when there’s an arm around his shoulders. He lets out a modulated shriek and nearly goes for his shuriken, but there’s a familiar laugh next to his ear.

 

“Thought you were supposed to be a ninja, kid.”

Genji relaxes, looking up at Gabe and grinning.

“I am a ninja. And you’re a supersoldier.”

Gabe grinned, steering Genji away from the entrance to the ride.

“Right. But you still stand out in a crowd, ingrate.”

Genji raised an eyebrow.

“I am a cyborg.” he deadpanned.

Reyes just shrugged, sitting them both down on the bench text to a girl with purple highlighted hair and bright pink mickey mouse sunglasses. She scooted over for Gabe, her eyes still fixed on her datapad.

 

“So,” Reyes’s tone was conversational, but he wasn’t quite hiding a smirk.

“Did you know that this time of year they convert the Haunted mansion ride to Nightmare Before Christmas?”

Genji tilted his head. Gabe’s grin got even wider.

“Do you remember those halloween photos? From the year you arrived?”

 

It was slowly dawning on Genji what Gabriel was getting at.

 

“Better hurry, they had fast passes.”

 

___

 

McCree was having the time of his life. Honestly, you couldn’t be around Gabriel Reyes for any length of time without gaining a new appreciation for Halloween themes, even if it was November. The man was a fiend for holidays. So it would have been exciting on his own, but adding to the fact that he was _basically_ on a date in _Disney_ was just fantastic.

 

And Hanzo was in a league all his own.

 

“How’s overwatch been treating you?”

Hanzo sighed, settling against McCree’s side as they waited in the last leg of the line.

 

“It is a worthy organization, but exhausting at times. I thought the old guard were rather over enthusiastic, but these new recruits are even worse.”

McCree snorted.

“I find it hard to believe anyone could be more enthusiastic than Lena Oxton.”

“You would be surprised. Some of these kids- They keep up with her easily, and are much louder.”

“Sounds like a good time.”

Hanzo smiled wistfully.

“Ah, Hana is a nice girl. She keeps inviting me to play video games with her. Your old guard- they were rather untrusting at first. Hana wanted to know why, pulled the story from Genji’s file, and came to talk to me herself.”

“Sweet kid.”

Hanzo nodded, smiling.

“She refers to me as her weird old uncle.”

McCree let out a full-throated laugh at that, picturing Hanzo in the corner at family gatherings with the old guard. It brought a hard pang of nostalgia to her chest, and it must have shown because Hanzo was looking up at him with open concern.

 

“Are you alright.”

“It’s nothin’, sugar. I’m right as rain.”

The disbelieving look Hanzo gave him was so cutting that McCree gave in.

“Just miss ‘em, sometimes.”

Hanzo raised his eyebrows, thoughtful.

 

“Then why-”

McCree waved the question off as they began moving again, finding a car on the ride.

“You’re sharp as a tack, darlin’, I’m sure you know why.”

Hanzo gave a hum of confirmation, but didn’t push it further. McCree was worried for a moment that he’d been too blunt, but Hanzo pressed against him as they lowered the restraining bar.

 

Aww. He could get used to this.

_

 

McCree had to admit, he’d had a bad feeling back in the line when he’d noticed the setup for the ride. But he’d brushed it off, and he’d forgotten all about his premonition by the time they entered the last part of the ride. But this time, when the overhead voice told the story of the return of the Pumpkin King, black smoke filled the room. The laughter changed from the speakers to the display in front of them and out of the darkness rose a terrifying figure in a pumpkin head mask, all black robes and talons, bursting out of the ground with a maniacal laugh _just_ as the flash for the ride camera went off.

 

Jesse would go to his grave saying he saw it coming, but that photo caught both him and Hanzo mid terrified scream.

__

 

Gabe was already outside buying the photograph by the time Jesse and Hanzo got off the ride, already back in his disney merchandise. Sombra and Genji were next to him, looking at the photo on the display screen and laughing.

 

Hanzo cleared his throat with the authority of the mob boss he was destined to be, but Genji and Sombra just waved at them and then went back to asking Gabe for key-chain copies.

 

“Oh for- DAD-”

Gabe was handing Genji and Sombra their copies and attaching his to his rental car keys when he turned back to McCree with a grin.

“Ah, there you are mijo! Thought you might have had to go change your pants!”

He just grinned wider at Jesse’s glower.

 

Their silent standoff was interrupted by a loud noise from Genji’s com. He checked it and grimaced.

“Hanzo, Morrison’s awake and wants to know where we are.”

McCree instantly broke his stare from Reyes and looked back to Hanzo.

“Gotta head back, then?”

Hanzo frowned.

“I’m afraid so.”

McCree was very aware of the eyes on the back of his neck, and just reached out and gave Hanzo’s hand a quick squeeze.

“I’m sure we’ll see you later.”

Hanzo smiled, and McCree swore he felt his heart skip a beat.

 

“You could not keep me away.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey you guys! Sorry this one took so long ;~; that's all for our disney arc, next up- the open road!


	8. On the Road again (interlude)

Honestly, Jesse felt a little bit bad about the ride. Sombra had been humming “it’s a small world” for hours now, and as much as he loved her like the little sister his mother hadn’t given birth to, he was going to have to kill her. Gabe was talking over her, too distracted to fuss, pointing out the window at the places there used to be landmarks. 

 

He must have been in a pretty shit mood, to be reminiscing like this, so Jesse didn’t make fun of him for all the sappy stories about Jack. 

At least it was a distraction from the humming. 

 

Gabe pointed at a pile of dimly white rubble off the road.

“Hearst castle. We camped out there during the approach to the LA omnium, used it as a base till we went in. Jack and I sat in the bottom of the drained pool and talked our whole watch shift.”

 

“How’d it get destroyed?”

“We rigged it, revealed it as the camp, and blew it when the omnics came to investigate.” 

Jesse snorted at Gabe’s casual tone. He supposed you stopped caring so much for historical structures on a battlefront. 

 

“I bet Reinhardt hated going on missions with you.”

Gabriel snorted.

“You’d be right. You should have heard him carry on when we went to the black forest. On and on about the historical wooden railings we were getting bullet holes in.”

 

McCree bit his lip. Took a moment, and then took the plunge.

 

“Y’know, he joined the new Overwatch.”

Gabe kept his tone casual. Still, McCree knew all of his tells. He was tense.

“Figures he would. It was made for him, after all. All of those high flying ideals and heroism. He always wore it better than the rest of us.”

 

A different tactic.

“You sound like you miss him.”

That earned Jesse a glare that would have killed a lesser man. Jesse met it square on. He knew when he was right. After a moment, Gabe returned his eyes to the road. 

 

“Maybe you’re right, kid.”

 

Even conceding, his tone was dangerous. Jesse valued his life too much to push it further. Still, he grinned to himself. That was a win. 

 

___

 

Hanzo was  _ not  _ pining.

 

So what if he couldn’t get the press of the cowboy’s arm against his out of his head, the strength when he swept the archer off his feet. He was fine. They’d be seeing each other soon anyway. 

 

Probably.

 

There hadn’t been much of a hint this time, but Jack had told them stiffly that he knew where Gabe would go next, and gotten into the car. When Hanzo had typed a comment on that into his communicator, not even bothering to send it, the purple chatbox had appeared again. 

 

_ Jack knows. Tread carefully. _

 

That had been all he could get out of her, and sure, maybe he wished that she could just get him in contact with Jesse, but he’d be fine. 

 

He glared out at the landscape, trying not to think about Jesse.

He was doing an  _ abysmal  _ job. 


	9. ...If you're going my way

McCree was honestly proud of himself.

 

It had only taken 2 hours, 30 minutes, and 58 seconds of whining before Sombra had broken and connected him to Hanzo’s datapad. Which, honestly, was probably less a credit to his negotiation skills, and more on account of the fact that Gabe would throw them both out of the car to walk to the last thousand miles to Washington. 

 

They had both hitched rides on too many trains after being thrown out of family road trips to try that particular stunt again. 

 

Still, Jesse allowed himself a moment of triumph before he sat down and typed  _ Howdy darlin’,  _ sending it off.

-

In a car on the same road, an hour behind, Hanzo got a message that read ‘Salutations, my dearest’

He frowned at it for a moment, drew the correct conclusion, and decided not to bother telling Jesse that Sombra had installed her own personal brand of autocorrect on his datapad. She’d probably change the translations to something even worse.

 

He settled back and tried to keep the smile off his face with only limited success. 

_ Hello, Jesse. How is your drive going? _

-

Jesse didn’t bother hiding his glee, and Sombra rolled her eyes at him as she chewed her gum with single-minded focus- lifting her foot and aiming it carefully for between Gabe’s shoulder blades in the front seat.

**_Mighty fine. Bit of the usual sibling ruckus but I think I came out on top. How’s your family car ride going?_ **

_ - _

Hanzo didn’t quite manage to choke off a laugh, a strangled noise coming helplessly out. Genji somehow gave the impression of side-eying him, even with the visor on. 

 

**_Strong and finely ground. Bit of the usual sibling major disturbance..._ **

 

He forced his laughter under control, clearing his throat, and then went to type a response.

_ Quiet and vaguely passive-aggressive. Genji and Jack have been arguing about rest-stops and restaurants since even before we left. _

 

_ - _

**_Well Jack’s got the same taste in rest-stops as Gabe does, and I’m thinkin’ Genji’s probably got the same tastes as Sombra so we’ll probably be stopping in the same places._ **

 

Sombra finished lining up her kick and landed it, knocking Gabe forward with a yelp, before his voice dropped about an octave and smoke dripped off his face, exposing bone.

“ **SOMBRA-”**

“I’m hungry.”

 

She popped her gum, ignoring the terrifying visage of death before her. Gabe dripped smokey gore for another minute of stare off, and then acquiesced. His face reformed. 

 

“We’ll have to stop to recharge before the sun sets anyway, since we’re doing the red-eye drive here. I swear these stupid things only run out of charge at night to encourage people to stop driving. Back in the military-”

 

Jesse tuned him out in favor of pulling up the car’s navigation interface on the datapad and scanning the road. 

“Turn here.”

 

“What-”

Gabe caught sight of the sign for the turn off almost as they passed it and grabbed the manual wheel, sending the car into a screeching turn. One set of wheels left the ground, and Jesse lifted the datapad as Sombra- who didn’t wear a seatbelt, the bratty little anarchist- flew bodily across the car and into his legs. He put out his arm to push her back, hitting another button to send the location data to Hanzo. 

-

 

Hanzo forced down a smile as the messages arrived- both at the location, and at the fact that “Sombra” had been replaced with “The Greatest Hacker In Existence”. He settled in to wait, setting the rest stop into the car’s data so it would ping as a suggested destination as they passed it. 

-

Jesse kept messaging Hanzo, tuning out the usual arguing as he trailed behind them from the charging station into the connected mini-mart. 

 

“Put that back Sombra-”

“But I’m tired-”

“I am not sitting in an enclosed space with you after you’ve had an energy drink. Get a cup of coffee, or you can  _ walk. _ ”

 

**_Miss you a bit._ **

_ And I you. You are certainly better company then Morrison. _

**_Damn me with faint praise, lol. Might as well tell me that I’m better company then a rabid cat._ **

_ That’s a bit mean. But he’s certainly not much of a conversationalist. _

**_Never has been except with the press. Kind of a snarky ass back in the day, though._ **

_ I’m afraid I can’t picture that. _

 

The chat pinged with a message to both of them- a picture of a younger Jack and Gabe, Jack pinching gabe’s cheeks and pulling his face into a smile. There was a happy-new-year crown on Jack’s head, and his eyes were bright and blue. Gabe was free of grays, squinting fiercely. 

 

McCree raised an eyebrow at Sombra over the top of the aisle, and she waved a twizzler dismissively at him, studying the vats of coffee with the attention a wine connoisseur would give a row of fine vintages.

 

_ Ah, now I can. Thank you. _

 

McCree smiled at Hanzo’s message, and then considered the aisles for a moment. A rack of greeting cards caught his eye. Apparently they were too lazy to change out the racks for the time of year, because there were halloween cards alongside christmas and valentines day offerings, and one rather lonely “Happy independence day Hoo-rah”. 

 

He ignored the look Gabe gave him when he walked up to the register with one of each. 

 

__

 

Hanzo ignored the faint pang of nervousness in his chest as they pulled into the fuel station a few hours later. He loitered in the doorway, even as Genji made a bee-line to the energy drinks and Jack went along behind him to talk him out of it. His eyes scanned the shelves, and as he looked around he got the sense of being watched.

  
He looked over. The cashier was grinning at him. She waved him over.

He went, a little hesitant. She didn’t look like an assassin- she was hardly 20- but-

His nerves disappeared as she offered him a bag. 

“Guy in a cowboy hat left this for you. You’re sure lucky, by the way, he went on and on about you.”

 

Hanzo flushed, taking the bag and stammering out his thanks before he headed towards the drink racks Genji wouldn’t go near for tea and protein shakes. 

 

He fished the card out of the bag. It had a Jack-O’-Lantern on it and read “Hey there pumpkin”.

  
When he opened it, he was greeted with a pop-out ghost and the text “Happy Halloween to my Boo-tiful boo” Hanzo rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help his grin this time.

 

He was almost looking forward to the rest of the drive. 


	10. Living History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes....some angst, because we've got some actual issues to sort through for these old farts before they fall into each other's arms again. more Mchanzo lovey-doveyness next chapter
> 
> also a bit of omnic crisis history here, and all the requisite seriousness

The mood got heavier as Gabriel neared his destination. He started driving the car manually again, and Sombra and Jesse stopped asking to stop. Jesse had run out of cards 100 miles back, and they were both well stocked. They’d known what to expect. So as Gabe focused on the road, they played a silent round of go-fish. 

 

The first sign came into view.

_ Crisis Memorial Museum. Exit 41A _

 

They ignored it, as they always did. Jesse raised an eyebrow at Sombra and held up four fingers. She flicked her wrist, as though waving an invisible fishing pole, and he grimaced, drawing another card.

 

_ Crisis Memorial Museum. Next exit. _

 

Gabe put on the turn signal. 

 

__

 

He parked in the back corner of the lot, as always, and Sombra and Jesse fell in on either side of him. 

Gabriel would never admit it, but they were a reassurance. The first time he’d made this trip by himself, before he’d located Jesse, he hadn’t made it inside of the building. He’d lost his cool so spectacularly that his very cell structure had given in, and he’d circled the building in a fog of nanites for hours before reforming and heading away again. 

 

Now he didn’t even hesitate in the entryway, heading straight through. Sombra and Jesse wrapped their arms around his as they crossed into the first exhibit, but he felt steady on his feet. Still, he didn’t push them off. Sombra tended to hold on a little tighter at the mention of the Quetzalcoatl god program, Jesse at the mention of the Houston Omnium. They supported each other. 

 

They walked past the corporate beginnings of omnica, the corporation’s expanded holdings, the map with the locations of its factories. 

 

The next room had the same map- marked with the reds and oranges of the civilian deaths in the first wave. They stopped, taking a moment. One moment turned into a few more, and Gabriel felt the tug at his elbow. Sombra was pulling him towards a bench. He went.

 

The room was mostly empty, and Sombra pulled her legs up underneath her.

“Tell me about getting the call.”

 

He sighed.

“Haven’t you heard this story enough?”

Jesse bumped his other shoulder.

 

“Don’t usually get to hear it from the man who led the charge.”

 

Gabriel rolled his eyes.

“Bet you heard it from Jack plenty on the news.”

Sombra scoffed, and Jesse grinned.

 

“Point still stands.”

Gabriel allowed himself the ghost of a smile, still looking at the map. It was on the tip of his tongue, the memories. He’d told them both a thousand times about the battles with Jack, the whirlwind they were together. Before he knew Jack was alive.

 

It was easier to forgive a dead man.

 

Gabe huffed out a sigh.

  
“Forget that story.”

They both looked startled at the deviation from the script, and Gabriel grinned.

“Did I ever tell you about how Jack proposed?”

 

By the identical expressions of surprise, it seemed he hadn’t. He heaved himself to his feet.

 

“Lets walk. I think there’s a photo somewhere in here-”

___

 

Gabriel was a good commander, but he had a ruthless streak, and a tendency for overkill. Sometimes the extra push kept him alive. Sometimes it just  _ really  _ pissed off Ana.

 

“Gabriel. It’s dead. They’re all dead. The EMP was detonated within a meter of them.”

 

Gabriel ripped the head off another omnic, throwing it aside.

“Some of them it just knocks their systems offline-”

“No it doesn’t.”   
“It could-”

“Gabriel. If you don’t drop that thing right now, I am going to sleep dart you.”

__

 

Sombra actually had a laugh at the photo- a pile of omnic heads with a caption about the brutality of the crisis.

“So they thought you were running in ripping their heads off?”

“The UN knew. It was standard procedure in the initial stages of the crisis. But I bet it painted the picture they wanted afterwards, when they promoted Jack.”

“Bet Rein did most of the battle related decapitatin’.” Jesse mused, tapping a the glass case where a half-crushed head was displayed. 

“On the field maybe. Not sure how many I ripped apart after we got the EMPs detonated.”

 

___

 

Ana had sleep darted him, but he’d come to halfway to base, shrugged out of his jacket, and made a run for it. He’d heard her yell into her radio and picked up the pace, but Reinhardt had come barrelling towards him, and he’d made a sharp turn to dive down an alley.

 

“Treason!” He yelled over his shoulder.

“You need to rest!” 

 

The alley had ended with torb, holding a wrench like he planned to use it. He’d turned again, taking off down the next alley. Liao was at the end of that one, holding one of Ana’s tranq rifles. He’d ducked under that one too.

 

__

 

They got to the part of the museum Gabriel had been aiming for, and he led Sombra and Jesse to the map of the Huntsville Omnium, pointing out the core they’d disabled, and then how far out Ana had gotten him before he’d come to and sprinted back in again. 

 

“So you were just sprintin’ around an omnium you’d only just decommissioned? Practically playing tag?” Jesse was grinning, even as he tried to sound judgmental. 

“Basically.” 

“Like father like son.” Sombra muttered.

__

 

He’d finally run out of corridors, since all halls led to the center of the omnium, and there was Jack. No weapons, but his hand behind his back.

 

Gabriel had raised an eyebrow.

“Are you raiding now? Because I’m not telling, but I want 50% of the profits-” 

“You’re awful.” Jack grinned.

“You too, sunshine. Is that a tranq dart you’ve got behind your back?”

 

“Nope.”

“You gonna tell me what it is?”

“Only if you answer a question for me first.”

___

 

“Oh my gooood.” Sombra groaned, putting her face in her palms.

“That’s awful.”

 

Jesse just chortled.

“I can’t picture Jack pulling out a line that bad.”

Sombra rolled her eyes.

“I can.”

 

Jesse waved her off.

“That’s because you know everything. So did you say yes?” he grinned. He already knew the answer. Gabriel grinned and headed towards the next room, beckoning.

 

This was a new exhibit, made from newly donated photos. Love on the Battlefield. The centerpiece was a photo Ana had taken from behind them, Jack on one knee, Gabriel with his face in his hands. But Gabriel stopped dead, because right next to the photo-

 

Was Jack. 

 

He turned around. 

His kids were gone, the little shits. He sighed, turning back to Jack. He was somehow entirely unsurprised. 

 

Jack was looking up at him, and it twisted his heard to see him- scarred, eyes more gray than blue. But he was wearing glasses, and his eyes seemed to focus fine. Gabe crossed the room to stand by him, looking at the picture.

 

Jack was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, it was quiet, contemplative. As though they were picking up a conversation they’d only just been having.

“Why did I wait so long?”

Gabriel shrugged.

 

“You gave me plenty of reasons at the time.”

“Shouldn’t have let anything get in the way.”

“Maybe.”

“Should have gone public with this years ago. Now here it is, labelled, and all we’ve got is some confused reports. Shoulda had that big stupid white wedding your mom would've wanted.”

 

Gabe’s heart tried to escape out his chest.

“Yeah.” he managed.

 

Jack turned to look at him, and he saw the same determination mirrored in the photograph. The same man, even after all of these years.

  
“Come back to Overwatch.”

 

The same man and the same mistakes. Gabriel looked away from Jack, looked back towards the wall where, next to them, Ana and Reinhardt held each other, on their knees in the rubble. The photo was sepia, faded, taken with a camera they’d fished out a sewer. 

 

Reinhardt, forced to retire. His life’s purpose stolen. Ana, left behind with a bullet in her head. 

 

“No.”

It wasn’t as easy to say as he thought it would be. 

 

“Gabe-”

“No, Jack. This war took everything from me once. I’m not going to lose my family again.”

  
“You can get your old family back.” Jack’s voice was so soft, so sad, that Gabriel knew if he looked up at him he’d give in. He didn’t look. He walked out of the room. 

 


	11. Re-recruiting

Watching from Sombra’s datapad view of the security feed, Jesse winced. 

“That didn’t look good.”

Sombra shrugged, shaking a snowglobe of the swiss base thoughtfully.

“Hard conversations need to be had. It’d be silly to hope they’d just hug it out.”

Genji huffed out a sigh, the steam vents in his shoulders sending the museum attendant who’d been approaching them turning on his heel.

Self-conscious, he adjusted his beanie and pulled the scarf a little higher around the metal in his jaw. 

“Still hoping.”

Hanzo nodded. He understood Reyes’s viewpoint far too well. Rather fitting, he thought, that Genji should side with Morrison. Forgiveness offered too freely, lingering bitterness from other tresspasses. 

 

Still, if there was hope for him, there was hope for anyone. 

 

Jesse bumped his hip to Hanzo’s, interrupting his thoughts with a burst of pleasant static. 

The cowboy grinned.

 

“Thinkin’ too hard hon. They’ll be alright.”

Hanzo rolled his eyes, hip checking Jesse as he crossed to where Sombra was looking at snowglobes. 

“I am less concerned for them and more for how long we can keep up the pretense that we are actually participating in the mission.”

 

Genji and McCree exchanged grins, and Hanzo raised an eyebrow at the both of them.

Sombra threw an arm around his shoulder and grinned.

 

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that.”

Hanzo debating trying to shrug her arm off, but sighed as he decided it would look far too petty. He yielded.

  
“Why is that?”

Sombra extended a hand, and a holographic globe coalesced just above her palm. She tossed and palmed it, grinning, and then spun her wrist. Tags appeared over the surface- names, locations, photos. Hanzo caught the pictures of himself and Genji over Japan, as well as the other overwatch agents he’d met as his time at the base. Sombra let it stop rotating over north america. Three tags. Gabriel Reyes- California. Jesse McCree- New Mexico. [REDACTED]- Mexico. 

 

“Because officially, your mission is no longer retrival. It’s recruitment!”

 

___

 

As Jack stood a little longer, looking at the photograph on the wall, his com went off.

Grateful, however irrationally, for the distraction- he picked up.

 

“76 reporting.”

_ Ah, Jack. We’ve got some new intel. _

 

Jack was struck with creeping dread. He hadn’t reported his intel. He hadn’t called in meeting Reyes. He hadn’t-

 

_ The Sombra Collective has made contact with us. They’re an associate of McCree’s and connected with another former overwatch agent. They wouldn’t give specifics, but they broke into Athena’s servers without any difficulty at all. Left her some optional upgrades that are rather phenomenal as a gesture of goodwill! Our processor speed is up- _

 

“Winston.”

 

_ Right. Sorry. You’ve got a new mission. Make contact with the Sombra collective and offer them Overwatch membership, see if you can get more information leading to McCree and the other former agent. Winston out.  _

 

Jack hadn’t formed a response before the cheerful disconnect notification sounded in his ear. 

 

When it finally processed, he let out a stream of swear words that had parents covering their kids ears and took off at a sprint towards the door.

 

The gift shop was empty when he reached it, the only sign of disturbance three empty shelves under the snowglobes sign.


	12. The road to (el) Dorado (Interlude)

Genji and Hanzo were waiting in the car, because of course they were. Genji’s smothered grin wasn’t fooling anyone, but Jack would have been hard pressed to argue with Hanzo’s thoughtful look out the window, had it not been for the Watchpoint Grand Mesa snow globe in his lap.

 

The little shits. 

 

Jack decided that it was better for his all-around mental stability to just not ask, and went ahead and climbed into the driver's seat and announcing “Dorado, Mexico” to the nav system and the car in general. 

 

“What’s in Dorado?” Genji sounded positively gleeful, and Jack let the car begin its route as he turned in his seat, clipping his visor on his face and giving Genji a long stare. The visor system put a glowing target on other heat signatures, and Genji gulped as he saw the red light activate.

 

Jack let the threatening silence stretch out a little longer before he disengaged the auto target and sat forward in his seat again. 

 

“Gotta hand it to you” he started, ignoring the question entirely, “you two know how to make powerful friends.”

 

There was genuine confusion in their expressions, and Jack had to smother a grin. Maybe he did have the upper hand, for once. 

“The Sombra collective. Pretty impressive. I suppose all this bullshit will turn out to be worth it after all.” He couldn’t stop the trace of bitterness from slipping into his tone. Bullshit. Even if Gabriel wasn’t dead, he was still good as gone. 

“....The sombra collective?” Genji sounded like he was speaking more to the air then to anyone in particular. 

Hanzo was silent for a moment longer, then let out a slight wheeze. Jack glanced back, concerned, to see Hanzo trying desperately to hold back laughter. At the scrutiny of the visor, he finally broke. 

“Hanzo! This isn’t funny-” Genji whined.

Hanzo just laughed even harder.

“What??”

“How did you not realize??” Hanzo chortled, “Her entire theme is purple! She hacks into everything! She’s avoided telling us her name at every point!”

“Not every hacker is fucking  _ Sombra,  _ Hanzo.”

“She’s from Mexico!”

“THERE ARE LOTS OF HACKERS IN MEXICO.”

 

Jack rolled his eyes behind his visor, returning his attention to the road. 

 

Siblings. 


	13. Change the Game

 

It was, Sombra reflected, good to be home. 

 

She hadn’t been back to Dorado in a while, not since long before los muertos had been single handedly wiped out by “Soldier 76”, not since long before Talon’s financial support of Lumierco had dried up with the replacement of the company’s president. Now, the glass pyramids were a much more welcoming sight, delivering the power they’d promised without the threat of darker forces over the city.

  
No darker forces at all, much to Sombra’s satisfaction. What was left of los muertos stayed well into the shadows, and Sombra didn’t let her sentimentality getting in the way of knowing that things were better that way. Maybe they’d been her friends, once. 

 

But she had a family now.

 

She held onto that as they set up the safehouse and she sent out a few messages to Hanzo. A family. Jesse and Gabe were her family, and Overwatch was theirs. It made her nervous, all the way down to the base of her gut, to so much as think about joining a paramilitary organization like Overwatch. The only thing potentially worse than a UN controlled overwatch was an Overwatch with no oversight whatsoever.

 

But these were good people. 

 

And if they so much took two steps off the good side, she’d gut their systems so bad they wouldn’t be able to so much as make a payphone call. 

Now  _ that  _ would be fun. 

 

She was in a much better mood, whistling on her way to the door. Maybe she’d go down to the bakery-

“Sombra.”

-or maybe not.

 

She stopped in the doorway, trying to look casual as she looked over her shoulder.

“Yes?”

 

Gabe didn’t look angry, that was a good start. Gabriel Reyes and the full force of his fury was a thing to behold, and not to be trifled with. 

He was wearing his hoodie and his casual clothes, the old war hero’s scars and skin- even better. She grinned.

“I was gonna go see Alejandra. You coming?”

Gabe raised an eyebrow.

  
“You think I put my face on just to sit in the house?”

 

-

They fell into step, silent for a while as they walked through their own memories. Gabe remembered la medianoche, remembered the city as a torn battleground. Sombra remembered neon paint, graffiti on every wall. The peace was strange to both of them. Finally, Gabe spoke. 

“Why’d you do it.”

“Do what.” the automatic response, her mind still focused on the alleyway where there was still pulse burns on the walls. Wheels, paint, Alejandra-

Gabe put an arm around her shoulder, grounding her in the now. She squeezed his wrist, grateful. He gave her a moment before he continued. 

 

“Disneyland was Jesse, sure, and Las Vegas was probably an old trail, though I doubt you’re that sloppy. But you ghosted at the museum. And Jesse wouldn’t have left all those cards unless he knew the archer would get them. So I know you’re involved. I just don’t know why.”

 

Sombra took a moment. She thought of a talon recruitment offer, sitting on her desk. Nearly giving into the chance to destroy them both, end the conflict, break every piece on the board and then find the ones who ran the game. 

 

Left on a desk, in a loft somewhere in this city. Long abandoned. She sighed.

 

“They’re good people. I want to believe in them.”

“And Jack?”

 

Gabe’s hand went to his chest automatically- two dogtags that were no longer there. Sombra caught the gesture, nudging his side with her elbow. 

“You gave up everything to do the right thing, papa. Now you don’t have to.”

 

Gabriel sighed, resigned. 

“And I suppose I’m never going to be rid of them.”

“Nope!” Sombra grinned. “Well, probably not.”

 

Gabe raised an eyebrow and sombra grinned, eyes flashing over with data for a moment.

“Can’t give in that easy, now can I?”


	14. peace of mind

It was immediately obvious when they got to Dorado that the other trio were long gone. 

 

Asking around at bars and cafes was a giveaway- they’d been to them all, hit every bar, eaten on every street corner, been seen by everyone, and then disappeared. 

 

Jack felt a little bit like screaming. 

 

Their search was going nowhere, and he’d finally had enough after the 6th cafe to tell them that they’d seen them all, and hadn’t heard them talk about where they were going- only very loudly about war stories and nostalgia.

  
If that didn’t sting. 

 

Hanzo had been on his datapad the entire day, typing away, and finally Jack had enough. He threw himself down to the park bench and glowered up at the two agent-shaped blurs (damn his stupid military tech visor and his stupid eyes and his stupid glasses he’d broken).

 

“Alright, where are they.”

 

Hanzo didn’t even try to play innocent, despite Genji’s splutter of protest.

“They’re heading south. Something to do with our recruitment mission. Sombra thinks we’re more than capable of figuring it out- something to do with paperwork.”

Jack scowled. He knew who that task was going to fall to. 

 

“Fine then. You two are dismissed. I need to go back to the room and get my visor.”

__

 

Hanzo and Genji had gone willingly- probably to try different bars until something took, if he knew Genji. Jack couldn’t find it in himself to care. Visor back in place, he panned through potential agent files. Hana Song- recruited. Efi and Orisa- pending. Brigette Lindholm- pending. Lúcio Correia dos Santos. Pending. 

 

Location- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

 

Jack did another scan to see if any other recruitment files fell in South America- but it was just the one. DJ. Freedom Fighter. Rebel against Vishkar and the takeover of his own community. Despite himself, Jack was impressed. Kid had spirit- especially for a double amputee at such a young age. Tough. A good asset to a team. Fought with modified Vishkar equipment- they could always use another capable engineer, even considering that Brigette was a shoe-in for recruitment. She was caught up with family matters- it was going to take some time before she was ready to come to base, and in the meantime the air conditioners still barely worked. 

 

Without giving it much more consideration he hit the button to indicate that he was following up. 

 

He had a minute of peace of mind, looking over the file.

 

And then it clicked.

 

He swore, grabbing his things and stuffing them back into his suitcase, fumbling with his communicator to call Hanzo and Genji. He knew where to go- but-

 

_ But Gabriel was going to get there first.  _


	15. Two steps ahead

 

“So let me get this straight.”

Lúcio was sitting back in his computer chair, legs off and relaxed as through three strangers hadn’t just broken into his house.

 

“Overwatch wants to recruit me. But you guys- you guys being the world’s best hacker, a cowboy, and the late Gabriel Reyes the man the myth the terrorist-”

 

“-not really what happened-”

Lúcio continued as though he hadn’t heard the protest-

“-you guys want me to join you in fleeing Overwatch specifically to fuck with the also-reported-dead commander Jack Morrison.”

 

“Essentially.” Sombra looked relaxed, holding Lúcio’s laptop in her lap and fiddling with a holographic overlay between her fingers.

 

Lúcio grinned.

  
“Awesome!”

Jesse blinked.

“Say what?”

Gabriel elbowed him, but Lúcio just laughed.

 

“Man, when I was growing up, Gabriel Reyes- sir- you were my hero. You were the one that got us free of Quetzalcoatl. We weren’t terribly happy about Jack Morrison getting that promotion, and even less happy about the big showy heroism. We knew about Blackwatch. You guys ran the ops here that got the gangs out. That’s my jam, man! Protecting the little people. And I hear the new Overwatch took on a liason from Vishkar.”

 

Gabriel was still gaping at all the praise, so Jesse cut in.

 

“You know about the new Overwatch?”

 

Lúcio snorted.

“Yeah, man. I’ve got D.va on speed dial. She’s been trying to convince me to join. But honestly there are too few people in that organization who know what Vishkar’s up to.”

Sombra made a harsh noise in the back of her throat.

 

“Bunch of corrupt politicians. But you don’t need to worry about _symmetra_. She doesn’t really know what they’re doing in cities like this.”

 

Lúcio frowned.

  
“Ignorance is part of the problem.”

 

Sombra grinned, and Jesse realized with a sinking sensation that she's had this planned all along. 

  
“Exactly. And that’s why I’ve got a plan.”


	16. A Better World

Jack’s com rang as they got onto the plane.

  
Genji had a different set of armor around his eyes, disguising him as an omnic as they bundled him against the window to stop anyone from getting a close eye on him. Hanzo was the row behind, polished and pretending he didn’t know them. He hadn’t been on his datapad in hours, and looked tense and uncomfortable. Jack felt a bit sorry for him- kid had to be messaging someone important the way he smiled at his datapad. Hopefully it was somebody nice. And hopefully they were just busy right now. Jack was trying to be nicer to him, but he just got more distant.

 

Well, kids these days...

 

The com beeped again, in his ear, and Jack grumbled as he transferred the call to his phone, holding it up to his ear so he looked a little bit more like a civilian. 

  
“Yes?”

 

“ _ Agent 76. It is Sym- Satya. It is Satya.” _

 

The vishkar liason sounded uncomfortable, and Jack couldn’t blame her. They hadn’t spoken more then twice, and she couldn’t be calling him if she didn’t need something.    
  


“Yes. I’m on a plane at the moment, so you’ll have to let me know what you need.” he tried not to sound too gruff, but Satya’s voice faltered in his ear anyway.

  
“ _ Ah- Understood. The situation is that....”  _ she took a moment to collect herself, and Jack could faintly hear the sound of her fingers tapping rhythmically- probably on the edge of her workbench. “ _ My organization is planning a move in Brazil soon, and the agent you have indicated that you are following up with may plan to contest it. Article 6 section 9 subsection 1.3 of our liaison agreement does state that- ah- you are within your parameters in meeting with and establishing connections with undesirables- enemies of vishkar- and we cannot restrict the movements of Overwatch agents within personnel missions and independent excursions. I am aware of being outside of my purview as a liason-” _

 

Jack waited, putting the bags in the overhead bins as he waited for Satya to collect herself. Nice girl. There had been lots of agents like her in the original overwatch- everyone thought a little differently. But all the same, he really hoped she got it out before the plane took off, and that she wasn’t about to ask him not to contact Lucio.

 

_ “...Could you consider checking on Vishkar’s activities in Rio?” _

 

Jack’s sat down next to Genji, a little harder then he meant to. Genji gave him a concerned glance.  

 

“Checking in?” Jack tried to sound neutral. Satya loved her organization. Surely she wouldn’t suggest-

 

“ _ I do not make semantics errors, Agent 76. Check on. As in to conduct a preliminary overview of their movements within the city. I...was present for the building of their first center in Rio. There were....accidents. I am concerned about further missteps. Could you...investigate?” _

 

Jack bit down his questions about what “accidents” entailed. He’d seen the news. 

 

“Can’t promise anything. I’ll do what I can.”

There was a moment of silence, save for the tapping, and then Satya sighed.

  
“ _ Thank you...ah. I was told to make an effort to employ personal names instead of agent titles, but I am unaware of your legal name, due to the protected status of your file. Do you have a preferred name or set of pronouns?” _

 

He actually smiled.

 

“It’s Jack. he. Thanks for asking. I’ll follow up with you later, Satya.”

 

She hummed and the connection clicked off. Jack briefly considered if he had just let a potential enemy in on his real identity, but thought again about what she’d asked. 

 

_ They’re making a better world.  _ That’s what she’d said when she first arrived.  _ Vishkar can bring order to all of this. We could help. _

 

He was worried about what they were going to find in Rio. 


	17. Immigrant Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is a bit songfic-y, but you know what, this fic started with musical shenanigans, might as well keep on. I gotta lean back on it to break the writer's block every once in a while. (which reminds me, sorry it's been so long!)

“You know, Sombra. Normally I don’t question your plans, because I trust ya, and they have a way of workin’ out in everyone’s favor in the end.”

 

Sombra didn’t look up from the program she was writing, the terminal lighting her face in the dark cast by the heavy curtains. 

 

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

 

“Okay, yeah, but- “

 

“Do I hear doubt? In your voice right now? Because that hurts me, Jesse. It really does.”

“Not in you.” Jesse choked out. He had a death grip on the handle of his guitar.

 

“I kind of doubt, uh? In me? Given that I don’t know how to play this guitar?”

 

Sombra didn’t even turn to look at him, still programming.

 

“You’re wearing the glove I gave you?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“So don’t worry about it, because the glove’s all machinery, and i’ve hacked your arm-”

  
“You did wha-” 

 

“Curtains up in 5, Jessito, better get moving-”

 

Jesse let out a low hiss, but obligingly moved to the opposite end of the stage. Gabriel was already at the drum set, in his full mercenary “Reaper” regalia. He looked oddly serene, for a man wearing a skull mask and at least three layers of body armor. 

 

Jesse got the feeling this was either going to be the best or the worst experience of his life.

 

“Remind me again why the professional performer isn’t doing this part?”

 

“I would, but- oh look, it’s time!”

 

Sombra strutted out of the shadow, a mike in her hands, and an old familiar skull painted on her face. She grinned, hefting the mikestand.

 

“Ready or not~”

 

____

 

It didn’t take Jack long once he’d gotten off the plane to locate Gabriel and McCree. It was pretty easy, in fact, given that they were on  _ every single screen in the airport. _

 

Given the chaos the display was causing amongst the airport employees, he was going to guess that this wasn’t intentional. 

 

Genji, at his elbow, actually took off his visor to squint up at the screen.

 

“I didn’t know Jesse knew how to play guitar.”

Hanzo, on Jack’s other side, was looking like he was very much enjoying that revelation, but Jack just sighed, glad they hadn’t checked bags.

 

And then Sombra started screaming, and it clicked exactly what he was hearing.

 

Genji spluttered for a moment before he choked out-

 

“Is that fucking Led Zeppelin? Seriously?”

 

__

 

There actually was a good reason Lúcio wasn’t helping out onstage.

 

It was because, though Sombra had hacked every circuit with an open vulnerability, Vishkar was annoyingly thorough, and they’d put their sound manipulation on a closed system. So in the tiny Vishkar subdevelopment in Rio, there were still people shuffling around like zombies, a soothing melody worming its way into their ears.

 

At least until Lúcio had broken into the system and blasted half-a-century old music out of every single one of their speakers.

 

There had been a few moments of stunned silence, but Lúcio had a remix running over Sombra’s vocals, and it didn’t take long for people to snap out of it. And then he just had to jump up on a podium.

 

_ Our only goal will be the western shore-. _

 


	18. in a new light

The mysterious performance had disappeared long before they managed to reach it, but Jack had a feeling this wasn’t over. They’d gotten stuck in their rental car and had to abandon it because there were marches in the street.

 

So they were walking down the street, holding signs someone had handed them, Jack with his leaning against his shoulder as he walked. He was in a hoodie, which he hated, squinting furiously out from behind sunglasses that were rendering his visibility close to zero. 

 

He felt a guiding touch at his elbow, a warm metal hand, and was for a moment  _ obscenely  _ grateful to Zenyatta and whatever magic shit they taught in that monastery.

 

On his other side, Hanzo said something softly in Japanese.

 

Genji responded in kind, and then addressed Jack in....German? Fuck, it had been ages since he practiced-

 

_ Vishkar....an event...hosting _

 

He tried to ask which event, and Genji snorted and switched back to English.

 

“Banquet dinner. Bet we know who is going to be there.”

 

Jack nodded, trying to think of a plan. They...weren’t good enough at stealth to get in there. Well, maybe Genji....but...

 

Another touch on his elbow, on the other side this time.

 

“I have an idea, if you are willing to hear it, Commander.”

 

___

 

Jesse was in position, and prepared for anything  _ except what was currently happening. _

 

He’d been in his waiter uniform, trying out his italian accent on a much less discerning crowd (people who weren’t Italian) at the Vishkar benefit dinner. Security had been a little tighter, but Lúcio had just broken in upstairs, and in the meantime, Sombra and Gabriel were booked as the perfectly normal singer-pianist combo that absolutely-didn’t-have-speakers-in-the-piano-and-weren’t-currently-hacking-the-security.

 

Sombra just needed the wifi password and she was set. Well, she didn’t need it, but it made things faster and “saved her from the boring part.” Gabriel wasn’t expecting any interference from Jack, because he was absolute trash at stealth. If Genji broke in they’d introduce him to Lúcio and hope his playboy instincts or love of celebrity distracted him long enough for Sombra to finish hacking the network so they could blow this popsicle stand with the enhanced speakers.

 

Those things could take out about 20 windows. They weren’t expecting much trouble.

 

But trouble appeared to be Hanzo, wearing a suit, his hair swept up neatly, strutting like a peacock. 

 

McCree was having feelings. Feelings that were making his pants kind of uncomfortable. 

 

And then Hanzo, seated at one of the tables like he had an invitation and every right to be there, crooked a finger at him.

 

He sent up an apology to heaven, because that’s certainly where Gabriel was going to send him when he inevitably fucked up the plan. 

____

 

Lúcio was in the attic space above the event hall when he heard a voice as though it were directly in his ear and jumped about a foot.

 

“We’ve got a problem- stop looking around, it’s just me.”

 

“I wasn’t.” Lúcio whispered, grinning to himself as he went back to his wiring. He was lying and she knew it, but they both let it drop. “What’s the problem?”

 

“Our friends are savvier then we were expecting. Hanzo’s downstairs. McCree’s a lost cause.”

 

“Need me to pose as a waiter?”

 

“No, but you’re not going to have backup for this next part.”

 

“Remind me what the next part is again?”

 

Sombra cut out, and in the silence, he  _ definitely _ heard footsteps behind him. He sighed. This had better be fucking  _ awesome  _ when it came together.

 

___

 

_ McCree. _

 

“And woulda you lik-a more water, sir?”

 

“You’re a tall glass of water yourself, aren’t you?” Hanzo pulled off haughty and spoiled like he was made for it, and Jesse was sweatin’ like a sinner in church.

 

_ Jesse. _

 

“Naw, but I am mighty thirsty- I mean- I-a....thank-a you sir.”

 

_ Jesse new plan. New plan, Jesse. _

 

“Hmm, I certainly wouldn’t mind a drink, provided you bring it to me.”

 

“I certainly will.....a.”

 

_ Jesse the records are paper and i’m blowing the speakers in 10 fucking seconds and if you don’t get out of here now, you better be ready to dance. _

 

Jesse straightened.

 

“What?”

 

Hanzo raised an eyebrow.

 

“I did not-” Jesse could see the moment he registered that this wasn’t quite part of the act, and he started to rise, but apparently Sombra had decided that 10 seconds was too much time, because a fast beat started up all around them.

 

It didn’t blast out the windows, but....ah, shit. His feet were moving of their own accord, and lots of startled people were getting up, bouncing in place, looking alarmed.

 

“Hey, Han, I don’t suppose I could invite you for a dance?”

 

_____

 

“You know, this isn’t really how I imagined I’d spend this mission. We were supposed to go into a casino, find Jesse, and go home again, fallala. Only my commander’s alive, and legally adopted me, so he’s my dad now. And my other commander’s hopelessly in love with him, to the point where it's kind of sad, and now my brother's in love with Jesse too.”

 

Lúcio hummed sympathetically, pulling files from the filing cabinets and stacking them on Genji’s arms as he went on.

 

“And now i’m committing industrial espionage with my favorite celebrity! So it’s been great, but I just! Didn’t expect it! Any of it.”

 

Lúcio grinned up at him.

 

“Well, I’m glad it’s been great. I gotta go now, but would you mind if I saw you with that visor off?”

 

Genji, feeling a bit baffled, flipped up the visor. Lúcio looked him up and down, and then grinned.

 

“Call me sometime.”

 

“What?”

 

There was a green blur, and Genji was left alone with the files.

 

He blinked dazedly, trying to rid his eyes of the green retina burn.

 

This was a confusing day.

 

____

 

The involuntary dancing, Sombra reflected, had to be her favorite use of Lúcio’s tech. Sure, mind control and healing were great, but dancing! She and Gabriel were immune, but she bobbed her head along anyway as she surveyed the hall, trying to plan their exit.

 

And right on cue, a silver blur at the door.

 

Gabriel sighed.

 

“Remind me why you didn’t blow the windows?”

 

She pointed at the chandelier. 

 

“How do you feel about glass rain and civilian casualties? Just out of curiosity.”

 

Gabriel didn’t reply, but he grunted, which was as close to a you-were-right-and-I-was-wrong as she was ever going to get out of him.

 

“And since it’s there, could you give me a boost? There’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

 

____

 

In as much as Jesse could enjoy being mind controlled to dance, he was having a good time. He was waltzing with hanzo, who was a  _ superb _ dancer, and gettin’ to have him in his arms was lovely. Only, he’d been spun, and was two steps back when he saw the chandelier tip dangerously.

 

He had enough of a gut instinct to think  _ ah, shit _ before the impact of an invisible body knocked him to the floor.

 

Sombra flickered back into visibility and stuffed a pair of earplugs in his ears.

 

“We gotta go before the cops show up.”

 

She saluted Hanzo, who was doing some kind of traditional dance and seemed unable to stop.

 

“Sorry, only brought one pair of earplugs!”

 

Hanzo didn’t look like he believed it, and Jesse didn’t either, but she bundled him out the side door. 

 

__

 

Gabriel wraithed to the front door, and reformed next to Jack, tense as a cable, tapping just his left foot and glaring at it as though it as though it had betrayed the sovereignty of Egypt to the Roman Empire. 

 

Hm. Maybe he should stop watching history documentaries in the hotel room.

 

“You know, no one’s gonna judge you for dancing. It is kind of mind-control music.”

 

Jack started, and then relaxed when he saw who it was. Gabe’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t think he’d done anything to deserve that trust.

 

“I can’t dance and you know it.”

 

Gabriel shrugged.

 

“I always liked watching you anyway. I’d say break a leg, but you remember, that one time...”

 

Jack grinned behind his terrible sunglasses.

  
“Yeah, I do.”

 

Gabriel sighed.

 

“What’s with the disguise, boyscout? You’re a hero. You got nothing to hide.”

 

Jack clammed up again.

 

“Not a hero anymore. Just an old soldier.”   
  


Gabriel felt his chest get cold, and he took a step away. He saw the way Jack’s expression morphed, but hardened his resolve.

 

“That was always the problem, Jackie. You hid behind your colors. Behind your mask, and your rules, and your big stupid coat. Before that you hid behind your flag. Old habits aren’t going to make you a new man.”

 

Gabriel started to ghost, but he heard Jack behind him-

 

“Do you think it’s too late? For me to be a new man?”

 

Gabriel almost smiled.

 

“No. Not yet.”

 

And then he melted into shadows, to go rejoin his family.

  
  
  


Behind him, Jack made a decision. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> this fic has art!  
> http://valgeristik.tumblr.com/post/169905320629/valgeristik-a-commission-for-faiahae-some 
> 
> and
> 
> http://valgeristik.tumblr.com/post/170327169696/valgeristik-mccree-as-cinderella-anyone-yes


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